IXL | Compare information from two texts

Read a text about cursive.

A popular Internet cartoon shows a beautifully scripted message on notebook paper: "Someday, we old folks will use cursive writing as a secret code." The joke carries a grain of truth: a significant number of young people are unable to write or read cursive. Once a major focus in education, cursive has disappeared from many classrooms. The reasoning is that cursive isn't necessary in the computer age, since text is usually displayed in print. But the trend concerns historians and other experts, who point out that it may render people unable to read handwritten records from the past, such as contracts and personal letters. By eliminating cursive instruction, we are essentially slamming a door on history.

Select the two details that are included in the text.

Detail	Text 1
Removing cursive from the curriculum frees teachers to address other areas.
Many school instructional plans no longer include cursive.
New standards in the early 2000s determined cursive is unnecessary for college or work.
Reading some historical documents requires cursive literacy.

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question

Read a text about lucid dreams.

Dreams can range from the mundane to the horrifying, but lucid dreaming, during which dreamers are aware they are dreaming, is a mysterious category all to itself. Though lucid dreams don't occur frequently, experts estimate that fifty percent of the population have experienced the phenomenon at least once. Fascinatingly, some lucid dreamers can control their dreams at will; they may change the details or plot, or they may switch to a different dream entirely. This leads to an obvious question: can this skill be learned? And can we use lucid dreaming to improve waking lives? Some experts say yes. But with research on lucid dreaming still so scarce, the answers to these questions remain a mystery.

Select the three details that are included in the text.

Detail	Text 1
There is not much published research about lucid dreaming.
Some professionals believe that people could benefit from learning to lucid dream.
Some professionals believe that there are potential drawbacks to developing lucid-dreaming skills.
Some lucid dreamers have learned how to direct the content of their dreams.

key idea

When you study a topic, it's a good idea to read texts from different authors. Think about how the texts are similar and how they are different. The details included in the texts can help you understand the authors' points of view. For example, look at the following details from two texts by different authors:

Text 1
- Many endangered animals live in zoos.
- People can learn about animals at zoos.
- Zoos protect animals from being hunted in the wild.

These details highlight the benefits of zoos.

Text 2
- Many endangered animals live in zoos.
- Zoo life puts animals under a lot of stress.
- Animals in zoos cannot live in their natural habitats.

These details highlight the negative effects of zoos.

The authors can use these details to support different points of view about zoos. The author of Text 1 probably thinks that zoos are valuable to both humans and animals. The author of Text 2 probably thinks that zoos are harmful to animals.

solution

Three of the details are included in the text:

green checkmark, There is not much published research about lucid dreaming.

The text says, "But with research on lucid dreaming still so scarce, the answers to these questions remain a mystery."

green checkmark, Some professionals believe that people could benefit from learning to lucid dream.

The text says, "And can we use lucid dreaming to improve waking lives? Some experts say yes."

green checkmark, Some lucid dreamers have learned how to direct the content of their dreams.

The text says, "Fascinatingly, some lucid dreamers can control their dreams at will; they may change the details or plot, or they may switch to a different dream entirely."

This detail is not included in the text:

red X symbol, Some professionals believe that there are potential drawbacks to developing lucid-dreaming skills.

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Not feeling ready yet? These can help:

A.1Determine the main idea of a passage

O.3Choose evidence to support a claim

D.1Determine the author's point of view

Q.1Identify supporting details in informational texts

L.1Compare information from two texts

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